CHAPTER 32. THE CLOUD IS LIFTED

 Despite Hiram Strong's warning to his employer when they started work on the old Atterson Eighty, that she must expect no profit for this season's, work, the Christmas-tide, when they settled their accounts for the year, proved the young fellow to have been a bad prophet.

 

“Why, Hiram, after I pay you this hundred dollars, I shall have a little money left—I shall indeed. And all that corn in the crib—and stacks of fodder¹, beside the barn loft² full, and the roots, and the chickens, and the pork, and the calf——”

 

“Why, Hiram! I'm a richer woman to-day than when I came out here to the farm, that's sure. How do you account for it?”

 

Hiram had to admit that they had been favored beyond his expectations.

 

“If that Pepper man would only come for'ard and say what he was going to do!” sighed Mother Atterson.

 

That was the continual complaint now. As the winter advanced all four of the family bore the option in mind continually. There was talk of the railroad going before the Legislature to ask for the condemnation³ of the property it needed, in the spring.

 

It seemed pretty well settled that the survey along the edge of the Atterson Eighty would be the route selected. And, if that was the case, why did Pepper not try to exercise his option?

 

Mr. Strickland had said that there was no way by which the real estate man's hand could be forced; so they had to abide⁴ Pepper's pleasure.

 

“If we only knew we'd stay,” said Hiram, “I'd cut a few well grown pine trees, while I am cutting the firewood, have them dragged to the mill, and saw the boards we shall need if we go into the celery business this coming season.”

 

“What do you want boards for?” demanded Henry, who chanced to be home over Christmas, and was at the house.

 

“For bleaching⁵. Saves time, room, and trouble. Banking⁶ celery, even with a plow⁷, is not alone old-fashioned, and cumbersome⁸, but is apt to leave the blanched⁹ celery much dirtier.”

 

“But you'll need an awful lot of board for six acres, Hiram!” gasped¹¹ Henry.

 

“I don't know. I shall run the trenches¹² four feet apart, and you mustn't suppose, Henry, that I shall blanch¹⁰ all six acres at once. The boards can be used over and over again.”

 

“I didn't think of that,” admitted his friend.

 

Henry was eagerly interested in his selected studies at the experiment station and college, and Abel Pollock followed his son's work there with growing approval, too.

 

“It does beat all,” he admitted to Hiram, “what that boy has learned already about practical things. Book-farming ain't all flapdoodle, that's sure!”

 

So the year ended—quietly, peacefully, and with no little happiness in the Atterson farmhouse¹³, despite the cloud that overshadowed the farm-title, and the doubts which faced them about the next season's work.

 

They sat up on New Year's eve to see the old year out and the new in, and had a merry evening although there were only the family. When the distant whistles blew at midnight they went out upon the back porch to listen.

 

It was a dark night, for thick clouds shrouded¹⁴ the stars. Only the unbroken coverlet of snow (it had fallen that morning) aided them to see about the empty fields.

 

In the far distance was the twinkle of a single light—that in an upper chamber¹⁵ of the Pollock house. Dickersons' was mantled¹⁶ in shadow, and those two houses were the only ones in sight of the Atterson place.

 

“And I was afraid when we came out here that I'd be dead of loneliness in a month—with no near neighbors,” admitted Mother Atterson. “But I've been so busy that I ain't never minded it——

 

“What's that light, Hiram?”

 

Her cry was echoed by Sister. Behind the bam a sudden glow was spreading against the low-hung clouds. It was too far away for one of their out-buildings to be afire; but Hiram set off immediately, although he only had slippers¹⁷ on, for the corner of the barnyard fence.

 

When he reached this point he saw that one of the fodder stacks in the cornfield was afire. The whole top of the stack was ablaze¹⁸.

 

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” cried Sister, who had followed him. “What can we do?”

 

“Nothing,”, said Hiram. “There's no wind, and it won't spread to another stack. But that one is past redemption, for sure!”

 

Hiram hastened back to the house and put on his boots. But he did not wade¹⁹ through the snow to the fodder stack that was burning so briskly. He merely made a detour²⁰ around it, at some yards distant. Nowhere did he see the mark of a footprint.

 

How the stack had been set afire was a mystery. Hiram had stacked the fodder himself, with the help of Sister, who had pitched the bundles up to him. The young farmer did not smoke, and he seldom carried matches loose in his pockets.

 

Therefore, the idea that he had dropped a match in the fodder and a field mouse, burrowing²¹ for some nubbin of corn, had come across the match, nibbled²² the head, and so set the blaze, was scarcely feasible.

 

Yet, how else had the fire started?

 

When daylight came Hiram could find no footprint near the stack—only his own where he had circled it while it was blazing.

 

It was the stack nearest to the Dickerson line. Hiram, naturally, thought of Pete.

 

Since Mrs. Dickerson's sickness, Mother Atterson had been back and forth²³ to help her neighbor, and whenever Sam Dickerson saw Hiram he was as friendly as it was in the nature of the man to be.

 

Hiram could not believe that Pete's father would now countenance²⁴ any of his son's meannesses; yet when the young farmer went along the line fence, he saw fresh tracks across the Dickerson fields, and discovered where the person had stood, on the Dickerson side of the fence opposite the burned fodder stack.

 

But these footprints were all of three hundred feet from the stack, and there was not a mark in the snow upon Hiram's side of the fence, saving his own footprints.

 

“Maybe somebody merely ran across to look at the blaze. But it's strange I did not see him,” thought Hiram.

 

He could not help being suspicious, however, and he prowled about the stacks and the barns more than ever at night. He could not shake off the feeling that the enemy in the dark was at work again.

 

January passed, and the fatal day—the tenth of February—drew nearer and nearer. If Pepper proposed to exercise his option he must do it on or before that date.

 

Neither Hiram nor Mrs. Atterson had seen the real estate man of late; but they had seen Mr. Strickland, and on the final day they drove to town to meet Pepper—if the man was going to show up—in the lawyer's office.

 

“I wouldn't trouble him, if I were you,” advised the lawyer. “But if you insist, I'll send over for him.”

 

“I want to know what he means by all this,” declared Mrs. Atterson, angrily. “He's kept me on tenter-hooks for ten months, and there ought to be some punishment for the crime.”

 

“I am afraid he has been within his rights,” said the lawyer, smiling; but he sent his clerk for the real estate man, probably being very well convinced of the outcome of the affair.

 

In came the snaky Mr. Pepper. The moment he saw Mrs. Atterson and Hiram he began to cackle.

 

“Ye don't mean to say you come clean in here this stormy day to try and sell that farm to me?” asked the real estate man. “No, ma'am! Not for no sixteen hundred dollars. If you'll take twelve——”

 

Mrs. Atterson could not find words to reply to him; and Hiram felt like seizing the scoundrel by the scruff of his neck and throwing him down to the street. But it was Mr. Strickland who interposed:

 

“So you do not propose to exercise your option?”

 

“No, indeed-y!”

 

“How long since did you give up the idea of purchasing the Atterson place?” asked the lawyer, curiously²⁵.

 

“Pshaw! I gave up the idee 'way back there last spring,” chuckled²⁶ Pepper.

 

“You haven't the paper with you, have you, Mr. Pepper?” asked Mr. Strickland, quietly.

 

The real estate man looked wondrous²⁷ sly and tapped the side of his nose with a lean finger.

 

“Why, I tore up that old paper long ago. It warn't no good to me,” said Pepper. “I wouldn't take the farm at that price for a gift,” and he departed with a sneering²⁸ smile upon his lips.

 

“And well he did destroy it,” declared Mr. Strickland. “It was a forgery—that is what it was. And if we could have once got Pepper in court with it, he would not have turned another scaly²⁹ trick for some years to come.”

1 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

2 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

3 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

4 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

5 bleaching   

漂白法，漂白

参考例句：

• Moderately weathered rock showed more intense bleaching and fissuring in the feldspars. 中等风化岩石则是指长石有更为强烈的变白现象和裂纹现象。
• Bleaching effects are very strong and show on air photos. 退色效应非常强烈，并且反映在航空象片上。

6 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

7 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

8 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

9 blanched   

v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊（向她）走来，吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 blanch   

v.漂白；使变白；使(植物)不见日光而变白

参考例句：

• We blanch almonds by soaking off their skins in boiling water.我们把杏仁泡在沸水中去皮弄成白色。
• To blanch involves plunging food into boiling water,usually very quickly.漂白是将食物放进开水里，通常非常快。

11 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

13 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

14 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

16 mantled   

披着斗篷的，覆盖着的

参考例句：

• Clouds mantled the moon. 云把月亮遮住。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The champagne mantled in the glass. 玻璃杯里的香槟酒面上泛起一层泡沫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

18 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

19 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

20 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

21 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

22 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

24 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

25 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

26 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

27 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

28 sneering   

嘲笑的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• "What are you sneering at?" “你冷笑什么？” 来自子夜部分
• The old sorceress slunk in with a sneering smile. 老女巫鬼鬼崇崇地走进来，冷冷一笑。

29 scaly   

adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的

参考例句：

• Reptiles possess a scaly,dry skin.爬行类具有覆盖着鳞片的干燥皮肤。
• The iron pipe is scaly with rust.铁管子因为生锈一片片剥落了。